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Opinion

The arrival of Congressman Paul Ryan on the national scene as Mitt Romney’s prospective running mate has elicited a range of reactions from bewilderment to adoration. Heralded as an ideological leader of the Republican/Tea Party, Ryan’s intellectual prowess has been acclaimed.

What is “shared prosperity”? It is a euphemism wrapped in deceit. The president uses it frequently on the campaign trail when espousing how to move forward. He states frequently that we must go forward toward a new vision of an America in which prosperity is shared. He further states that we must not go backward to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.

“It’s a free country!” How many times have we and do we hear that phrase?
Let’s focus on free, freedom and liberty for a moment. The phrase certainly doesn’t mean that America is free of charge. In fact, this country has been built and kept with so much sacrifice starting from the pilgrims to the revolution to the Civil War, the world wars and many conflicts since. So, America is not free of conflict and sacrifice.

Women’s Wellness Day
scores high marks
Editor:
Clear Creek Public and Environmental Health Nursing Services would like to thank the many sponsors, volunteers and participants who made this year’s Women’s Wellness Day on Aug. 4 a wonderful community event. More than 50 attended, and a waiting list of nearly 30 was taken of those seeking mammogram and cervical screenings.

If you’re feeling the heat, the reason is that it’s hot, way too hot.
June and July were the two hottest months in Denver history. July’s record bumped the then-second-hottest July — 2005 — to third place behind Dust Bowl era July 1934. What is discomforting is that records being broken are those recently made. That implies a trend.

What would cause one to go berserk and randomly shoot people in a public way? This is a relatively recent American phenomenon — the last few decades — that seems destined to continue.

Questions for me deal with the psychology of individuals, who commit such heinous crimes without any semblance of remorse and the sociological implications: In this case, why has Colorado experienced a number of episodes while other states, such as Minnesota and Nebraska, remain unscathed?

“It’s the economy, stupid” was the famous statement from James Carville in the 1992 presidential campaign against President George H.W. Bush.

It was quite effective then, but the 2012 election is different. However, you wouldn’t know it through the campaign commercials. They keep repeating the same message: Unemployment is 8.3 percent, and the economy is bad. Blah, blah, blah.

By focusing on a 20-year-old mantra, we are missing the opportunity to win.

It has been clear to me for many years how important commissioner selection is to all residents of the county. I have been a resident of Clear Creek County for more than 40 years. I live on the far east end of the county, and I appreciate the services and decisions made in county government that afford me and my wife the benefit of road maintenance, emergency services and economic accountability of my tax dollars.

John-Paul was out of work for a long time after leaving active duty as a senior enlisted manager. Suspecting discrimination against veterans, he “civilianized” his resume and settled for a job he is way over-qualified for. His story is not unusual.

A monumental catastrophe is looming on the horizon for all residents of Clear Creek County, namely the outrageous proposal by the Colorado Department of Transportation to add another lane to the eastbound bore of the Twin Tunnels because traffic on Interstate 70 will slow to the speed of the traffic on the diversionary relief frontage road, which might get as high as 20 mph.

Sports enthusiasts knew that Pennsylvania State University would be punished in the wake of sexual abuse against young boys that allegedly transpired there. The NCAA, a national association of colleges and universities, hit Penn State with a $60 million fine, a four-year ban on bowl games and 40 fewer football scholarships. The organization’s president, Mark Emmert, said he wanted to change “the mind-set” that led to covering up abuse by an assistant football coach.

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.” — Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

Another terrorist attack. This one not of the type generally associated with terrorism, but had the alleged killer been Islamic with every other circumstance the same, the media and rightist Americans would’ve labeled it as such.

The Batman movie theater massacre in Aurora on July 20 should ignite a debate about the meaning of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Today, there are two schools of thought about the meaning of the Second Amendment or right-to-bear-arms law. Many Americans think the Second Amendment entitles every Tom, Dick and Sally to purchase, own and bear arms as long as they have never been convicted of a felony. But other Americans believe our forefathers intended the right only for a militia and not for the public at large.

Wow! I wondered about this for years. You see, I have been putting in about 60 to 80 hours a week for many years now and have wondered how the heck my business has been built. Here it is. The answer. Somebody else made that happen. Well thank you, somebody else! Please, Somebody Else, step forward so that we can talk about our next steps.

The town of Empire would like to give a most sincere thank-you to Sally Rush for coordinating the 2012 Frog Rodeo. By her dedicated efforts along with some amazing volunteers, the event was a success. Also, thank you to everyone who attended the event and supported the celebration of frogs. It was really you that made the day possible.

If you have a gut feeling about this election being bought and paid for, go with it. You’d be right. To that effect, Senate Republicans again have blocked passage of the DISCLOSE Act, which would’ve required anyone donating $10,000 to a Super PAC to have his or her name made public.

It was never very easy for those three little boys. Mom and Dad were locked in a cycle of anger, abuse and neglect. As the years went by, the family slowly dissolved. Yet through it all, the three brothers stuck together. They had each other.

As they grew, each devised a different plan of escape. Bud, the eldest, was the first to leave. He joined the Air Force and never looked back. Eventually, he found his way to Colorado. Bobby, the youngest, became lost in alcohol and hid it behind his sense of humor and magnetic personality. Bobby died very young.